Though she handily beat three male competitors to take the prime minister post in February 2006 with an offbeat slogan "Come to Mama," Miller's tenure has not proven as easy. Miller faced impeachment in October 2006 over a controversial half-million dollar donation from a Dutch-based commodities firm, Trafigura Beheer BV, which does business with the government; she eventually returned the funds. Miller then tried to make up for bad press by instituting a new healthcare benefit policy guaranteeing free healthcare and medical coverage for every child in Jamaica. Separate from that, Miller received the 2007 World Women and Sport Trophy from the International Olympic Committee for her role as the nation's sports minister, in which she promotes participation of Jamaican women in sports. Last year's Cricket World Cup, held in the Caribbean, was a boon for the tiny nation. A referendum on her tenure will come before October 2007, when she is required to hold general elections.—Tatiana Serafin

Sort list By:

See Also

Published sources include the women's official biographies, Factiva, International Who's Who of 2006, Marquis Who's Who, World Almanac of Famous People, Palgrave Who's Who 2006, the Congressional Yellow Book, the Judicial Yellow Book, Europa World Year Book, Hoover's Online, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, World Economic Forum, the World Book Encyclopedia. Rankings generated by combining various financial figures with other media and biography metrics; global media mentions from Factiva.